Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

• Lecturer: Dr H Makurira
• Course Design:
»Lectures
»Tutorials???
»Laboratories
»Assignments
»Self Study

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 Why fluid mechanics?
• Civil Engineers are concerned with the
provision of adequate water services such as
the supply of potable water, drainage,
sewerage are essential for the development of
industrial society.

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Practical applications of Fluid Mechanics
Fluid mechanics is involved in nearly all areas of Civil
Engineering either directly or indirectly. Some examples of
direct involvement are those where we are concerned with
manipulating the fluid:

• Sea and river (flood) defences;

• Water distribution / sewerage (sanitation) networks;
• Hydraulic design of water/sewage treatment works;
• Dams;
• Irrigation;
• Pumps and Turbines;
• Water retaining structures.

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 Other indirect applications of fluid mechanics

In some cases, the primary object is construction -

yet analysis of the fluid mechanics is essential for:
Flow of air in / around buildings;
Bridge piers in rivers;
Ground-water flow.

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 Course Objectives…
• To introduce fluid mechanics and establish its
relevance in civil engineering.

• To develop the fundamental principles

underlying the subject.

• To demonstrate how these are used for the

design of simple hydraulic components.
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3 Classifications of Fluid Mechanics
• Fluid Statics: mechanics of fluids at rest

• Kinematics: deals with velocities and streamlines

without considering forces or energy

• Fluid Dynamics: deals with the relations between

velocities and accelerations and forces exerted by or
upon fluids in motion

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 Scope of Fluid Mechanics
• Common in daily experiences e.g.

Flow in pipes and channels

air and blood in body

Air resistance or drag

wind loading

Projectile motion

jets, shock waves

Lubrication

Combustion

Irrigation

sedimentation

Meteorology

Oceanography

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 History behind fluids study (1)
• Ancient civilizations: irrigation, ships
• Ancient Rome: aqueducts, baths (4th century
B.C.)
• Ancient Greece: Archimedes – buoyancy (3rd
century B.C.)
• Leonardo (1452-1519): experiments, research
on waves, jets, eddies, streamlining, flying

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 History behind fluids study (2)
• Newton (1642-1727): laws of motion, law of
viscosity, calculus
• 18th century mathematicians: solutions to
frictionless fluid flows (hydrodynamics)
• 17th & 18th century engineers: empirical
equations (hydraulics)
• Late 19th century: dimensionless numbers,
• turbulence

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 History behind fluids study (3)
• Prandtl (1904): proposes idea of the boundary
layer
• Flow fields of low-viscosity fluids divided into
two zones:
– A thin, viscosity-dominated layer near solid surfaces
– An effectively inviscid outer zone away from
boundaries
• Explains paradoxes
• Allow analysis of more complex flows
• 20th century: hydraulic systems, oil explorations,
structures, irrigation, computer applications
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 Study of fluids
States of Matter Bernoulli’s Principle
Phase Changes Torricelli’s principle
Density
Viscosity
Pressure
Pascal’s Principle Turbulence
Buoyant Force Cohesion
Archimedes’ Principle Adhesion
Surface Tension

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 States of Matter
Matter comes in a variety of states: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
• The molecules of solid are locked in a rigid structure and can only
vibrate. (Add thermal energy and the vibrations increase.) Some
solids are crystalline, like table salt, in which the atoms are arranged
in a repeating pattern. Some solids are amorphous, like glass, in
which the atoms have no orderly arrangement. Either way, a solid has
definite volume and shape.
• A liquid is virtually incompressible and has definite volume but no
definite shape. (If you pour a liter of juice into several glasses, the
shape of the juice has changed but the total volume hasn’t.)
• A gas is easily compressed. It has neither definite shape nor definite
volume. (If a container of CO2 is opened, it will diffuse throughout
the room.)
• A plasma is an ionized gas and is the most common form of matter
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in the universe, since the insides of stars are plasmas.
 Phase Changes
Evaporation: Liquid → Gas
Condensation: Gas → Liquid
Melting: Solid → Liquid
Freezing: Liquid → Solid
Sublimation: Solid → Gas
A volatile liquid is one that evaporates quickly.
Examples of sublimation: Dry ice (frozen CO2) goes directly from
the solid to the gaseous state (it sublimates). This creates an eerie,
old fashioned effect, like graveyard fog in a spooky, old monster
movie. Comets are very small objects containing frozen gases that
sublimate when the comet get close enough to the sun. This creates
the characteristic tail the can be millions of miles long. 13
 Fluids
The term fluid refers to gases and liquids. Gases and
liquids have more in common with each other than they
do with solids, since gases and liquids both have atoms/
molecules that are free to move around. They are not
locked in place as they are in a solid. The hotter the fluid,
the faster its molecules move on average, and the more
space the fluid will occupy (if its container allows for
expansion.) Also, unlike solids, fluids can flow.
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 Density
Density is given by: ρ= m
V
The symbol for density is “rho.” Density is simply mass
per unit volume. Water, for example, has a density of
about 1 gram per milliliter. (It varies slightly with
temperature and pressure.) The S.I. unit for density is the
kg / m 3. For water:

1 g 1 mL (100 cm) 3 1 kg 1000 kg

ρ = mL · 3 · 3 · =
m3
1 cm m 1000 g

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 Pressure
Pressure is given by:
P= F
A
Pressure is simply force per unit area. Pressure is often
measured in pounds per square inch (psi), atmospheres
(atm), or torr (which is a millimeter of mercury). The S.I.
unit for pressure is the pascal, which is a Newton per
square meter: 1 Pa = 1 N / m 2. Atmospheric pressure is at
sea level is normally:
1 atm = 1.01 ·10 5 Pa = 760 torr = 14.7 psi.
At the deepest ocean trench the pressure is about 110
million pascals.
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 Pressure / Density Example

P = 6 lb / (9” · 3” ) P = 6 lb / (3” · 14” )

= 0.222 lb / in 2 = 0.143 lb / in 2

Tofu Cookbook
P = 6 lb / (9” · 14” )
= 0.0476 lb / in 2

9” Tofu Cookbook 3”
14” 17
 Pressure in a Fluid
Unlike the cookbook on the table, the pressure in a fluid acts in all
directions, not just down. The force on a 4 ft 2 desktop due to the air
is:

F = (4 ft 2) (144 in 2 / ft 2) (14.7 lb / in 2) = 8467.2 lb !

The desk doesn’t collapse since the air pushes up just as hard from
below.
The reason we are not crushed by our atmosphere is because the
pressure inside our bodies is the same as the pressure outside.

Pressure in a fluid is the result of the forces exerted by

molecules as they bounce off each other in all directions.
Therefore, at a given depth in a liquid or gas, the pressure
is the same and acts in every direction. 18
 Pressure / Density Questions
1. Why do snowshoes keep you from sinking into the snow?
The snowshoes greatly increase the area over which your weight is
distributed, thereby decreasing the pressure on the snow.
2. Why do swimmers float better in the ocean than in a lake?
Because of the salt dissolved in it, seawater is about 2.5% denser,
making people (and fish) more buoyant in it.
3. Why don’t they make longer snorkels so that people could dive
deeper without scuba gear?
The pressure difference just 6 m below water is great enough so that
the air in the diver’s lungs will be forced through the tube, collapsing
his lungs. A shorter snorkel might not be fatal, but the pressure
difference could prevent him from expanding his lungs (inhaling).
4. Which is denser, Earth or the sun?
On average, Earth is denser, but the core of the sun is much denser than
anything on Earth. 19
Snorkel kit

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 Dimensions and units (1)

● Units needed to properly express a physical quantity

● Systems to be used:
– S.I. (Systeme Internationale d'Unites)

● Adopted in 1960

● Used by nearly every major country, except the U.S.

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 Dimensions and units (2)
● Basic dimensions used in fluid mechanics:
– Length (L)
– Mass (M)
– Time (T)
– Temperature (θ)
● Primary and derived units

● Dimensions of acceleration: [a] = LT-2

● Dimensions of acceleration: [a] = LT-2

● Newton's 2nd law: F = [m][a] = MLT-2

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Commonly used units in SI and BG

Length (L) metre m

Mass (M) kilogram kg

Time second (T) second (sec) s

Force (F) Newtons N

(=kg m/s2)

Absolute (θ) Kelvins K

Temperature
Ordinary (θ) Celsius oC

Temperature

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 Derived quantities (1)
Basic dimensions: mass (M), length (L), time (T)
● Velocity = Length / Time
● Acceleration = Velocity / Time = Length / Time2
● Discharge = Volume / Time
● Force = Mass × Acceleration
● Pressure = Force / Area (also Stress)
● Work = Force × Length (also Energy, Torque)
● Power = Work / Time = Force × Velocity
● Angular Velocity = Angle / Time
● Angular Acceleration = Angular Velocity / Time

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25
 Unit prefixes in S.I.

Factor Prefix Symbol

giga G 109
mega M 106
kilo k 103
centi c 10-2
milli m 10-3
micro µ 10-6
nano n 10-9

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 Distinction between solid & fluid (1)

● Molecules of solid closer together than those of fluid

● In solids, intermolecular forces larger than in fluid

● Elastic solid
– deforms under load
– recovers original state when unloaded

● Plastic solid:
– deforms under sufficient load
– continues deforming as long as load is applied
– does not return to original state

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 Distinction between solid & fluid (2)
• Intermolecular forces in fluid not large enough to hold
elements together.

• Fluid flows under slightest stress and continues flowing

as long as stress is present

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 Distinction between gas & liquid (1)

● A fluid can be a gas or liquid

● GAS:
– Molecules farther apart
– Very compressible
– Tends to expand indefinitely

● LIQUID:
– Relatively incompressible
– If external pressure removed, does not expand
– May have a freefree surface (subject to its own
vapour pressure

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 Distinction between gas & liquid (2)
● VAPOUR:
– Gas whose T and P very near the liquid phase
– Steam is a vapour, state near that of water

● GAS:
– Super-heated vapour, far away from liquid phase
– Volume of gas or vapour greatly affected by ∆T and ∆P

● Thermodynamics
– Study of heat phenomena
– Important if significant ∆T or phase changes involved

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 Density and specific weight
● Density, or mass density, ρ [rho] = mass per unit
volume (kg/m3)

● Specific weight, γ [gamma] = weight per unit volume

(N/m3,)

● Related by

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 Specific volume and specific gravity
● Specific volume, v: is volume per unit mass (m3/kg)

● Specific gravity for a liquid is the dimensionless ratio

where ρL = density of liquid, ρW = density of water at a
standard temperature (either 4oC, or 60oF)
ρliquid ρ liquid g γ liquid
S= = =
ρ water ρ water g γ water

● For gases, the referencee density is not standard. It must

be specified.
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 Compressible and incompressible fluids

● Compressible is associated with variable density and

incompressible is associated with constant density

● No real incompressible fluid exists, assumed so if ∆ρ is small

as P changes, e.g.,
– Liquids usually
– Gases if ∆P small relative to absolute pressure

● Liquid compressibility important in pressure waves

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 Compressibility
• All fluids compress if pressure increases resulting in an
increase in density

• Compressibility is the change in volume due to a

change in pressure

• A good measure of compressibility is the bulk modulus

(It is inversely proportional to compressibility)
dp 1
Eυ = − υ υ= ( specific volume)
dυ ρ
p is pressure 34
 Compressibility
• From previous expression we may write
(υ final − υinitial ) ( p final − pinitial )
≈−
υinitial Eυ

• For water at 15 psia and 68 degrees Farenheit, Eυ = 320,000 psi

• From above expression, increasing pressure by 1000 psi will compress

the water by only 1/320 (0.3%) of its original volume

• Thus, water may be treated as incompressible (density ( ρ ) is constant)

• In reality, no fluid is incompressible, but this is a good approximation for

certain fluids
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 Compressibility of liquids (1)
● Bulk (volume) modulus of elasticity, Ev (kPa)

● Ev represents the ∆p required to produce a unit change

in specific volume (∆v/v)

● Ev = f(T,p) for liquids

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Compressibility of liquids (2)

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 Compressibility of liquids (3)
For a fixed mass of liquid at constant temperature, the
bulk modulus does not change much on a moderate
range of temperature.

● In this case, we can write:

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 Property relations for perfect gases (1)
● Perfect gases: gases with constant specific heats that obey
the perfect-gas law:
p/ρ = p⋅v = R⋅T or

where p = absolute pressure, ρ = density, v = 1/ρ, T = absolute

temperature, and R = gas constant

● For air, R = 287 m2/(s2⋅K)

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 Continuum view of Fluids
• Convenient to assume fluids are continuously distributed
throughout the region of interest. That is, the fluid is treated as
a continuum
• This continuum model allows us to not have to deal with
molecular interactions directly. We will account for such
interactions indirectly via viscosity
• A good way to determine if the continuum model is acceptable
is to compare a characteristic length ( L) of the flow region with
the mean free path of molecules, λ
• If L < < λ, continuum model is valid

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 Viscosity ( µ )
• Viscosity can be described as the internal stickiness of a fluid

• Representative of internal friction in fluids

• Internal friction forces in flowing fluids result from cohesion and

momentum interchange between molecules.

• Viscosity of a fluid depends on temperature:

– In liquids, viscosity decreases with increasing temperature (i.e. cohesion

decreases with increasing temperature)
– In gases, viscosity increases with increasing temperature (i.e. molecular
interchange between layers increases with temperature setting up strong
internal shear)
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 Applications of viscosity
• Viscosity is important, for example,
– in determining amount of fluids that can be
transported in a pipeline during a specific period
of time
– determining energy losses associated with
transport of fluids in ducts, channels and pipes

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 No slip condition
• Because of viscosity, at boundaries (walls)
particles of fluid adhere to the walls, and so
the fluid velocity is zero relative to the wall
• Viscosity and associated shear stress may be
explained via the following: flow between no-
slip parallel plates.

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Flow between no-slip parallel plates
-each plate has area A
v v
F, U
Moving plate y
Y
Fixed plate x
z
v v
F = Fi$ U = Ui$
v v v
ForceF U
induces velocity U plate
on top plate. At top
0
At bottom plate velocity is 44
The velocity induced by moving top plate can be
sketched as follows:
y
U u( y = 0) = 0
u( y = Y ) = U
Y
u( y )
The velocity induced by top plate is
expressed as follows:
U
u( y ) =   y
 Y

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 AU
For a large class of fluids, empirically, F ∝ Y
AU
More specifically, F = µ Y ; µ is coefficient of vis cos ity

F U
Shear stress induced by F is τ = A = µ Y

du U
From previous slide, note that =
dy Y

du
Thus, shear stress is τ = µ dy

du
=0
dy 46
In general we may use previous expression to find
shear stress at a point inside a moving fluid. Note that
if fluid is at rest this stress is zero because du
=0
dy

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Newton’s equation of viscosity
du
Shear stress due to viscosity at a point: τ = µ
dy

µ - kinematic
µ - viscosity (coeff. of viscosity) ν=
ρ viscosity

fluid surface

y
u( y ) (velocity profile)

Fixed no-slip plate 48

As engineers, Newton’s Law of Viscosity is very useful
to us as we can use it to evaluate the shear stress (and
ultimately the shear force) exerted by a moving fluid
onto the fluid’s boundaries.

 du 
τ at boundary = µ  
 dy  at boundary

Note y is direction normal to the boundary

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 Viscometer
Coefficient of viscosity µ can be measured
empirically using a viscometer

Example: Flow between two concentric cylinders

(viscometer) of length L

r h r - radial coordinate

Moving fluid R y
O
Fixed outer v
ω,T
cylinder x
Rotating inner
z
cylinder 50
 Non-Newtonian and Newtonian fluids

Non-Newtonian
fluid Newtonian fluid (linear relationship)

τ (due to vis cos ity )

Non-Newtonian fluid
(non-linear
relationship)

du / dy

• In this course we will only deal with Newtonian fluids

• Non-Newtonian fluids: blood, paints, toothpaste

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52
 Vapor pressure of liquids
• All liquids tend to evaporate when placed in a closed container

• Vaporization will terminate when equilibrium is reached between

the liquid and gaseous states of the substance in the container

i.e. # of molecules escaping liquid surface =

# of incoming molecules
• Under this equilibrium we call the call vapor pressure the saturation
pressure

• At any given temperature, if pressure on liquid surface falls below the

the saturation pressure, rapid evaporation occurs (i.e. boiling)

• For a given temperature, the saturation pressure is the boiling

pressure 53
 Surface Tension
• ST, σ,results from the attractive forces
between molecules,
• It is measured as a force per unit length
• It allows droplets to form, and small droplets
and bubbles to be spherical.
• Stability is maintained when force due to
surface tension balances the forces due to
inside pressure.
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55
• Consider the free-body diagram of a spherical droplet
and a bubble.
• The pressure force inside the droplet balances the force
due to surface tension around the circumference i.e.

• Note that in a bubble there are two surfaces so that the

force balance becomes

• So, if the internal pressure is desired, it is important to

know if it is a droplet or a bubble.
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 Capillarity
• A second application where surface tension
causes an interesting result is in the rise of a
liquid in a capillary tube.
• ST acting an angle to point of contact in the
tube results in upward pull.
• The upward pull is resisted by a downward
force caused by the weight of the fluid.

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Deriving capillary rise

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